Lucky I'm in love with my best friend
by FangsAndTutus
Summary: AU of season one, based loosely around Nathan's dream in 'Lifetime Piling Up', looking at the Naley relationship if they'd been best friends since they were young.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This idea has been in my mind for quite a while now, so I thought I'd finally test it out. I'm going to write a lot of flashbacks about Nathan and Haley being kids, just because I thought Naley as children would be cute. The story itself, though, is basically set AU of season one to begin with.**

The way which Nathan Scott looked towards his best friend was completely lost on her; intent, protective, _loving_. There was no harm in saying that Nathan Scott was in love with Haley James, although he'd never admit it to it. It was obvious to everyone around them, just not Haley herself. Haley was too engrossed in the magazine article she'd been reading, anyway: 'How I found love with my best friend'. The word which sprung to mind when considering Haley's point of view on this particular article was sceptic. Was it even possible to have known someone for almost all of your life and wake up one day to discover you were in love with them?

Yes. Nathan knew there was, he was peaking eagerly over her shoulder wishing that the article could be some kind of trigger, that she'd magically realise what he'd known all along. _Please love me, Haley James._

They stood alone behind the counter of the café which his mother owned; Deb's Diner. It'd always just been he and his Mom, ever since his father had walked out on them, realising he'd loved, Karen, the mother of his first born son more. He hated Lucas Scott, passionately. His 'big brother' attended Tree Hill High, too; was the captain of the Ravens – The basketball team – and just a complete and utter ass, especially to Nathan. As if on cue, Haley was talking about Lucas and his current girlfriend, Peyton, and he realised he'd not heard a single word she was saying, he was too busy thinking, and staring into those beautiful, brown eyes of hers. "-And then they just started making out right there in the middle of the courtyard. I mean, dude, talk about serious PDA." With a roll of her eyes, Haley shut the magazine and looked around the desolate café.

It wasn't often that the whole place was completely empty, but time was getting on and almost no-one remained within the quaint little building, short for Nathan and Haley. In her usual fashion, Haley was remaining behind as late as she could – She'd always preferred the company of Deb and Nathan to that of her own family; with the family of two, things were so much simpler than at home with her six siblings, constantly fighting. She'd stay at work until she was finally told to leave, then she'd go home, head straight to her room and spend the rest of the evening studying – Sometimes texting Nathan, at the same time – until finally heading to bed.

"You're so beautiful." Shit. Had he really just said that out loud? He didn't mean to do that, and then she was looking at him, startled, confused, with the expression of a deer caught in the headlights. It became apparent then that he had to think fast. "Brooke. I was thinking about her, imagining...Sorry."

Was it wrong that jealousy rippled through Haley's veins as he told her this? It spread like wild fire, and she found herself pursing her lips, although tried hard not to make it clear that she wished so much he was thinking of her. "Yeah, you and every other guy in school. I seriously don't get the attraction – Okay, so she's a cheerleader, and she sleeps around, but isn't sex meant to be special, anyway?" Was it possible she was growing dorkier with every word she said? "I mean, I want my first time to be special. Maybe I'll wait until I'm married, I don't know, I never thought about getting married before, really. Have you?" As per usual, she was babbling, typical Haley James.

Sex, to Nathan, wasn't such a big deal, but marriage was. If he was honest, the first time he'd thought about his wedding day was when he was five years old: a young little brunette girl had come up to him in the playground in kindergarten and asked if he wanted to play 'Mommy's and Daddy's' with her, because all the other boys preferred playing with the prettier, more popular girls. He'd agreed and despite only being a child, playing at being her husband had been magical. Always, Nathan had been the outcast, even at such a young age; and he'd watched the other children playing this game day in day out, and always they did same thing; the boy played as a doctor or a police man, the girl played as a teacher or a nurse; they'd come home play at cooking in the kitchen and then rock one of the baby dolls from side to side, before putting it down in a crib with four or five others.

But not Haley. She'd informed him straight off the mark that she wanted to be a singer, and he could do whatever he wanted, he didn't have to do some boring job if he didn't want. She'd rolled her eyes and informed him that being a fireman was 'such a cliché' – Of course, he hadn't known what that meant, but the way she'd said it caused him to begin crushing on her, even back then. He'd told her he'd play for the NBA and they could live in a big house, and unlike the other children they didn't need to steal all of the babies from the doll corner of the kindergarten, because they could have one child, and that would be enough. He remembered that when they'd finished playing, she'd kissed him on the cheek and said he was nicer than the other boys, he didn't kick sand in her face in the sandpit, or tell her that she was too short to ever be a cheerleader like the other girls.

The memory would be forever implanted in his mind, it was his first memory with his best friend. Eleven years had passed since then and although he knew she probably saw him as a brother, never had a day gone by when he didn't just want to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her. "I should get going." She finally told him, breaking into his thoughts. Hanging up her apron behind the counter, the most beautiful girl in all of North Carolina – In Nathan's opinion at least – walked away, leaving him left behind, with nothing but 'what ifs' floating through his brain. As the door closed behind her, he stared for several moments longer. "I love you." He whispered to the ghost of her presence, before turning off the light and heading up to bed, hoping that for one night only his dreams wouldn't be plagued with her, and he could finally get some rest without wondering if she'd ever love him back.


	2. Chapter 2

As Haley returned back to the James house, a sigh fell from her lips. The entire house was in darkness, and it became apparent that she'd spent a lot longer than she normally did chatting to Nathan once the custom within the café died down for the night. "Gee, thanks for waiting up." She muttered sarcastically, carefully closing the door and heading up to her room. Was it wrong to be thinking of Nathan as more than just her best friend? She never had in the past; he'd always been her best friend, her confidant, her unbiological brother. But now, they were growing up and she realised she had feelings for him more than she should for just a 'best friend'.

Now that she was sixteen, Haley knew she'd start to care a little more about boys, but did she really have to start feeling this way towards Nate? She recalled with perfect clarity that many a time both her parents, and Deb, had commented that they'd be married one day. She'd always just laughed it off, just rolled her eyes and acted like their parents were crazy, it'd never really occurred to her until right then that Nathan had never given the concept the brush off the way she had. As a matter of fact, he often seemed mildly offended when she acted like marrying him was not her idea of a good time.

When push came to shove, Nathan had always been there for Haley, ever since kindergarten. As the sixteen-year-old sat down upon her bed, memories came flooding back, and she was reminded of a day several weeks after they'd become friends. Even in those days, they'd become quickly inseparable, and spending time away from him had seemed odd. The inevitable had come one day though, and without Nathan around she'd sat on the swings, watching, waiting. To this day, she still wasn't sure who'd pushed her to the ground, but it'd been one of the other girls, shoved her off the swing for no reason other than pure malice. Amazingly, as the five year old hit the ground and cut open all of her knee, she didn't cry.

Haley had never been the type to cry; she simply stood up and looked at her bloody knee in distaste. That had been when he'd come along, all brave and heroic. "What did you do that for?" He'd demanded, but all the girls had, of course, acted completely innocent. "Do it again and you'll regret it."

That was the first of many times that Nathan had saved her, and cheered her up without even trying. He'd lifted her from the ground, and taken her inside to clean the blood from her knee. Had they been any older when she'd met him, the instant connection probably would have occurred as more than just a friendship, but it hadn't. They'd known each other forever, falling in love with him would almost be _wrong_ – Almost, but not quite.

Carefully, Haley pulled the cell phone from her back pocket and typed a quick text to Nathan. '_You never did answer my question, you know. I was thinking about that day not long after we met, the first time you saved me. You're always there for me. Never stop, okay?_' It was more long winded than she'd intended, but hitting send she leaned back, satisfied.

* * *

Feeling his cell phone vibrate against his leg, Nathan sat up. He'd been lost in a daydream; thinking about her once more. It seemed he was obsessed lately, which he knew probably seemed wrong considering she was his best friend; the closest thing he had to a sister. "Like I fucking care." He unintentionally muttered aloud, before reading the text, his heart slamming against his chest as he saw it was from Haley. '_That's because I didn't want to freak you out._' He typed the words, staring at them wondering whether he should keep them in or not – In the end he decided, that yes, he should, and continued. '_I'll always be here for you, you know that. Whether it's because you've been pushed off a swing, and hurt your knee, or because some jackass hurt your heart._' He was so tempted to end with 'I love you' but refrained.

Friendship was a beautiful thing; especially the friendship of Nathan Scott and Haley James, and he didn't want to go and ruin it with three foolish words, like 'I love you'. And nor did Haley, when the text came through, she knew he felt something for her and knew that deep down it was reciprocated, but she couldn't allow feelings to surface. As far as she knew, he was interested in Brooke Davis, and she was certainly no Brooke Davis, that was for sure. '_Freak me out? Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight._' It was over that quickly, and Nathan found himself craving to see her. He hadn't yet made a fool of himself with Haley, but now they had the whole weekend to themselves, and he didn't want to think about how many ways he could ruin this for the both of them. Switching off the light, he stared into the darkness, wishing, beyond anything, that one day, Haley would realise that he was the one for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I'm really enjoying writing this, and it's good to see that people are enjoying reading it, too! (: Okay, so this chapter isn't so great, but I promise I'll make up for it in the next chapter.**

Morning had come by in a flash, and before he seemed to even realise his alarm clock had gone off, Nathan was showered, dressed and waiting. It seemed that when it came to Haley, time was of no essence, and it didn't at all seem odd to the adolescent boy that was ready and rearing to go almost three hours before he'd agreed to meet with his best friend. He was even wearing cologne, and Nathan _never _wore cologne. As he strolled with a new-found confidence down into his mother's café, the difference, even just within his stride, was palpable. With curious eyes, Deb looked to her son, and in a way only a mother could, knew instantly what the change was about. "Are you and Haley..?"

Dumbfounded and embarrassed, Nathan looked down and shook his head. "No. It's not, uh...I have to go." Shuffling out the door, he found a weight lifted off of his chest now that his mother's judging eyes were not upon him. The cold air hit his face, and although the chill on the wind was bitter, it seemed to hold a comfort, the way an old, chewed up pen would no matter how mangled and misshapen the end became. With this bizarre metaphor floating through the boy's mind, he realised that he'd absentmindedly walked to the James house, and was almost half way up the drive way – He couldn't exactly turn back now, so instead he kept walking, rapping his knuckles against the wooden door frame. As a blonde girl, who looked maybe three or four years older than Haley, pulled the door open, they stared at each other blankly. Usually, Nathan would attempt to avoid Haley's siblings, and hadn't ever met a single one of them.

It appeared that the college-aged girl was checking him out, and had no shame in doing so. There was a slight smirk on her lips as she looked his body up and down, not once, but twice. "Vivian?" He guessed, but off her death glare, he assumed himself to be wrong. "Quinn?" He tried again, but he knew he was just digging himself a bigger hole by guessing, and the looks she was giving him suggested she knew it, too.

"Wow, I'm guessing I'm the only sister Hales doesn't constantly brag about? Good to know. I'm Taylor. The hot one." Taylor smirked at her own words – Which were dripping with sarcasm, something he now assumed to be a typical James thing, and not just a typical Haley thing - and allowed the door to open itself further to give him room to enter. "I have to say-" Nathan was almost tempted not to listen to her, it seemed this particular sister loved herself, and he found it hard to believe she was related to Haley at all. "-You're pretty hot for a dork. Guess my little sister bagged herself a hottie, for once." Realising that she was now running her fingertips, sensually, along his chest, he slowly entered the house, squeezing passed her and clearing his throat.

"Yeah, uh, is Haley here?" Nerves seemed to ripple through the veins of the Scott boy, and he looked to Taylor expectantly.

"Upstairs. Second room on the left, but then again, I suppose you already knew that." The eyebrow which she rose at him was more than a little suggestive, and he found himself more nervous than he had before. Instead of even bothering to mutter a 'thank you', he quickly ascended the stairs and flung himself into the room which Taylor had directed him to, although in her mind he did worry for a second she'd instead led him into her room, eager to try out 'Haley's boy' for herself. Luckily though, he could tell almost instantly he'd walked into Haley's room – It seemed odd, really, that he'd been her best friend for over a decade and never set foot within her room, but he knew that her parents wouldn't appreciate her having a boy in her room, even if it was Nathan.

"Hales?" His eyes quickly scanned the room, and seeing no signs of life he flopped down onto the freshly made bed, staring over to a wall where photographs were organised neatly. In the centre were several pictures of the pair together, and the one in the very centre caused Nathan to smile; his seventh birthday party.

Having been born in December, his birthday tended to get quickly forgotten about with everyone around him already in the Christmas mindset. Of course, his mother always remembered, but as far as the young boy could figure out that was her job, anyway. Up until last year, she'd been the only one, but then along had come Haley, and on his sixth birthday she'd surprised him by asking Deb to take the pair to see a basketball game (Which Nathan had always thought was really nice of her, considering she wasn't a fan of the sport herself). He didn't really expect much this year, though, because on the same day of his party came a Christmas party, hosted by none other than Lucas Scott and family, themselves. Discovering the news, Nathan had been crushed – He was one of the least popular boys in the second grade class, but he knew that the kids still enjoyed going to birthday parties, no matter who's they were. Not this year, though.

When the day of his party had come, no-one had arrived. Not a single person – Except for Haley. She'd tiptoed into the café five minutes late, put her hands over his eyes from behind and giggled softly. "I'm sorry I was late, Mom and Dad took Quinn and Taylor to the other party," She pulled a face of disgust, and had climbed up onto one of the stools on the counter, placing his present in front of her. "They're all so boring, right? But, I guess we can have a fun party! As long as you didn't invite clowns." For the rest of the afternoon the pair had played pass the parcel alone, danced around the café and ate eaten enough ice cream to make them both feel very, very sick. By the time Haley had to be picked up, Nathan eagerly told her that it'd been his best birthday ever, and to that day those words still stood as truth. It was a sort of tradition now, that they only celebrated their birthdays together, but it was a memory he clung to, along with so many others.

For the third time, Haley cleared her throat, standing in the doorway with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. "I kind of need to get dressed. Preferably without you in here." She grinned at him, but he showed no signs to leave, and had no intention to do so.

"I don't want to leave." Did he really just say that? Inside, Nathan was kicking himself; implying that he wanted to stay around and watch her change just seemed so...Perverted. Before she had the chance to protest and tell him how creepy he was sounding, he was up off the bed, his hand cupping her cheek; his lips on hers. In her mind, Haley was aware of how wrong this was, but using her foot to carefully kick the door closed, she returned the passionate kisses with a sense of need and lust, her mouth closing around his, her hands slowly, and almost awkwardly, wrapping around his neck.

It took several seconds for her to become aware of two things; 1. She was kissing her best friend, and the second? The towel had slowly slipped from her body, leaving her standing stark naked kissing him. Smooth. Grabbing the towel, she wrapped it back around her torso, backing slowly away from him, and wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "You should leave." She simply whispered, and as much as he hated to do so, he turned around, leaving without so much as a second glance.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter almost killed me to write, actually. But, don't worry too much, things will be more Naley-esque later. Oh, and I'm not a huge Taylor fan, so she'll get yelled at later, that ought to be fun. Thanks for the nice reviews, they're definitely making this all the more fun writing. (:**

The question of what had just gone wrong plagued in Nathan's mind ever since the second he left Haley's bedroom. At first, she'd kissed him back, then suddenly...She'd rejected him like that? He knew that the towel had fallen, but he hadn't looked at her, or anything, and she could quite easily have just picked it up again. He'd expected for her to tell him it was all so sudden, or say she'd never realised he felt about her that way, but not tell him to leave. As much as he wasn't the kind of boy to be too egotistical, he still found that his ego was wounded as much as his heart ached for her, now.

"Fuck her." Nathan muttered to herself, startled, however, by the laugh which followed his words. Taylor. Looking towards her, he found himself unsure whether he wanted to go towards her or head down the stairs. She stood in the doorway of her bedroom in a dressing gown, and he very much doubted she was wearing anything underneath it.

"You know, I would, but for a start...She's my sister. And for another thing, I'd much rather fuck you."

Haley had rejected him. That was all he could think, but Taylor wanted him, even if she only wanted to sleep with him. Although he wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, he was a virgin, and what did it matter if he lost his virginity to the sister of the girl he loved? Sex was just sex as far as he was concerned. Like a dog enticed by the concept of a bone, he headed to her bedroom door, Haley stepping onto the landing just in time to hear the door slam shut, and see the outline of a male figure enter.

* * *

The sound of moaning and creaking bed springs made Haley sick to her stomach as she sat down in the kitchen. Her parents were out, as were the other James siblings, and her sister was upstairs with some random boy. Little did she know that said random boy was _her_ best friend.

Guilt plagued the youngest James for rejecting him; in her heart, she knew she loved Nathan, there were untouched feelings for the boy she'd grown up with, but she didn't dare go there. If she and Nate got together, and things didn't work out for them, she wouldn't just lose her boyfriend, she'd lose her best friend, too. Staring at the blank screen of her cell phone, Haley hit the first speed dial and listened as it went straight to voice mail.

"Hey. It's me. Haley. Look, Nathan, we really need to talk. I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want...That, you know. It's just complicated. Especially considering I wasn't even dressed. Awkward. Well, I have some clothes on now, and I feel more than a little guilty, so maybe we could meet soon? Whatever."

With that, she hung up and listened as the noises from above seemed to quieten down. On several occasions she'd walked in on her sister having sex with a guy, and as embarrassing as it was, this time she needed advice. Maybe not Taylor-advice, but with no Quinn around to talk to, maybe Tay could prove to be good at something, for once. Cautiously heading up the stairs, she burst into the bedroom, hoping that the pair on the other side would be decent, or at least concealed by the bed sheets.

Horror filled her, and the world seemed to slow down. Taylor shouted her name, but all she saw was Nathan pulling his jeans back on. It seemed like a scene in one of the stupid movies she was often forced to watch, only this was very much real life. Choking back sobs, she backed away from the doorway, wondering how she'd ever trusted him, how she'd thought that she knew Nathan. Sleeping with Taylor wasn't just gross, it was degrading, and she'd always seen Nathan to be more than that.

It seemed he noticed her for the first time then, standing there half-dressed, he gave her open mouthed, wide eyed stare. It was obvious he felt the guilt which she'd been ridden with moments previously, but unlike her guilt, there was nothing he could do to make his better. Neither one of them dared speak, and it only made Haley feel like slapping Taylor, when she noticed she simply sat in the middle of the whole thing smirking. "You're a whore." She informed her sister emotionlessly, leaving the room, wishing she'd never had to walk in on that. Ever.

"Haley, wait!"

"No, Nathan. First off, you know what Taylor's like, how could you just...I can't believe you. And after _kissing_ me? Sleeping with any girl is bad enough, but my sister? What are you trying to do?"

"You told me to leave!"

"I was confused. But you've just made things perfectly clear. I'm not even kidding, Nathan. Get out, and don't come back. Don't talk to me, don't even think about me."

Her tone portrayed that she wasn't joking, the thought of Nathan and Taylor together just made her want to cry, but tears would come, later. She wouldn't cry in front of Nathan, she wasn't going to show her weakness in front of him. Instead, she stormed down the stairs, not quite sure where she was going, but knowing more than anything that she'd rather be anywhere than in the presence of the two biggest traitors in history. Taylor could have Nathan for all she cared, it made no difference anymore. There was no way Haley James was ever forgiving Nathan Scott for sleeping with her sister. No chance in Hell.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately, I've had a very busy few weeks. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this though, and I'll be updating as much as I can. Sorry for the short, and badly written, chapter, I can assure you things'll pick up soon! (:**

Why? The word rung like an alarm bell through Haley's mind, over and over again. Shock still pulsed through her veins, and the image of seeing them together – Even only in the same room, considering she hadn't seen anything much – flashed within her head. Had Nathan really slept with Taylor? Of course, she knew Taylor would do that; Taylor was practically built to do that, but not Nathan, not _her _Nathan, not her best friend. Standing on the street corner, somewhere in between her house and Nathan's, she realised there was no-where she could go. Staring at the floor, she found herself wishing it would come and swallow her up; only this time, it wasn't due the embarrassment of her clumsy ways, or say something she shouldn't have. No, this time it was all Nathan's fault.

Much in the style of the heavens right before a huge storm, the tear ducts within Haley's eyes opened and in no time at all the water was flooding down her face. Her sobs were silent, but uncontrollable, and she needed to get out of there pronto. With her head down to stop herself from feeling too vulnerable, she began hurriedly walking in the only direction which seemed to have no ultimate ending that she could see in the near distance. It wasn't until her body collided with another that she stopped dead in tracks, stumbling backwards slightly and looking into the face of the brunette in front of her.

For several seconds, Brooke glowered at the girl, but seeing her tears; her exterior softened and she frowned towards her. "Are you okay?" The concern within the girl's hoarse was only just noticeable, but nevertheless it made Haley a little more at ease – She knew of Brooke Davis, everyone knew of the head cheerleader, and as far as she knew she was a bitch...So what was with the concerned exterior?

"I'm fine."

"You're crying."

"Then why ask if I'm okay?"

Haley wasn't usually the type of girl to be so bitter, but she had her guard up – Who wouldn't after what she'd just witnessed? As much as Haley appreciated Brooke's help (Or, lack of it, as it appeared so far) she couldn't stand there talking all day, and instead turned back on herself, doing the one thing she didn't want to do, at all, and heading back to the house.

If she wasn't Haley James; if she was anyone else, with a less compassionate and more violent nature, maybe she could have found it within herself to slap Taylor, but she couldn't do that, the compassion within her heart made it impossible to even consider hurting someone, just because she'd been hurt, in a way she didn't think she could be hurt. Only a few hours previously she hadn't even considered the fact she cared for Nathan as anything more than a friend, and now – now she was jealous because he'd slept with Taylor? Confusion seemed to have swept over Haley, but as she walked inside the house, she knew that she and Nathan had, for a long time, had something more than 'just friends' going on between them, even if it wasn't obvious to her.

Echoes of the horrific scene she'd walked into flooded into the young brunette's brain – her best friend had been sitting on the edge of her sister's bed pulling his jeans on, there was no way she'd mistaken what she'd seen, and why else would he have taken his jeans off? There was no other explanation which made any sense, and that caused Haley's mind to want hate Nathan; never forgive him for what he'd done to her – She wasn't sure she could forgive him for that, but she didn't want to.

He stood there, still within her house, blocking the way up the stairs, and causing her to stare at him; stare at him, and realise that looking at him genuinely made her feel sick. "Well, if Taylor's bored of you, I'd appreciate it if you left my house." Her tone was venomous; but this did not surprise him. She thought they'd slept together, of course she'd be angry – Who wouldn't be?

"Hales, it wasn't like that!" He was almost yelling at her; but he needed her to see. "She wanted us to have sex, yeah, and I was upset so I thought about-" He paused, letting her take that in; realising that in itself sounded bad enough. "But we didn't. I couldn't."

It was too hard for Haley by this point, did she believe him, or didn't she? "But, you were putting your pants back on-" She began, interrupted almost instantly.

"Because she took them off me. But, we didn't do anything, I promise."

Now she had two choices; believe him, or decide that he was a liar, whom she no longer wanted anything to do with. "I-" She began, but couldn't finish. It would take some time; some time for him to prove to her that he really was the guy she'd always thought he was, and not someone who would allow himself to be deflowered by her sister. "-Need some time to think." With that, she pushed passed him up the stairs, even more confused than she had been before she'd returned home.


End file.
